Oil containing a polycyclic aromatic component such as light cycle oil (hereinafter, abbreviated as “LCO”) which is a cracked light oil produced in a fluid catalytic cracking (hereinafter, abbreviated as “FCC”) apparatus has so far been used mainly as a light oil or heavy oil-oriented fuel base material. In recent years, a technique has been proposed that efficiently produces a monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon having 6 to 8 carbon atoms which can be used as a high octane gasoline base material or a petrochemical feedstock and has a high added value (for example, benzene, toluene, or coarse xylene; hereinafter, these will be collectively referred to as “BTX”) from a feedstock containing a polycyclic aromatic component.
In addition, as an application of the method for producing BTX from a feedstock containing a polycyclic aromatic component, another method has been proposed for producing an aromatic hydrocarbon in which BTX is produced from a thermally-cracked heavy oil obtained from an apparatus for producing ethylene (for example, refer to PTL 1).
In the method for producing an aromatic hydrocarbon according to PTL 1, compared with the thermally-cracked heavy oil (cracked heavy oil) in the related art which has been mostly used as a fuel or the like for a boiler or the like in industrial complexes, the thermally-cracked heavy oil is hydrogenated, is brought into contact with a catalyst for producing a monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and is reacted, thereby producing BTX.